hi folks and welcome to another Simpsons Sunday poast. This weeks post is Yet another Encore post, which has been expanded for this blog. This week it’s about Monty Python and their influence on The Simpsons. The main reason for this is because of their style of comedy, which has of course influenced Matt Groening, among many others including the creators of South Park. Eric Idle is the only member so far, to have guest starred on The Simpsons. His character is documentery film maker Declan Desmond. He has guested in episodes from Season 14 onwards, with The character giving insite into various characters on the show through his filming of characters (According to the episode) in their dayly lives.As for the influence of Monty Python on the series, I think that the episode Homer Goes To College is an example of it. Just listen to some of the dialog early on in the episode after Homer gets to campus and meets the nerds he gets help from. Two examples of this are in the movie Monty Python and the Holy Grail, with the nights Who Say “Ni”. Also take a listen to the Election Special routine on the Live At Drury Lane album and Silly Noises from Monty Python’s Previous record, where the word ni is also spoken as a part of the sketch.
One thing I’m curious about is the sketch Book Shop! One of the books mentioned and spoofed was Great Expectations by Charles dickens and the reason I mention it is because, it was red in the audiobook form on cassette tape by John Cleese. He used all sorts of voices, including his comical ones and a voice similar to the one he use as the Grim Reaper in The Meaning Of Life, for the character Provis. Imagine the juxtaposition between his comical personas and reading a serious book and doing voices, for both affable and villainess characters That are similar to his own voice. I didn’t know the name at the time but when I heard John speaking in Monty Python, I recognize the voice from the audiobook. To give you an example of one of the voices he used, the character Handle was given a voice similar to the character John used in. Chease Shop. Now, I have his own book So, Anyway… and I have listened to some of it in audiobook form. I find it very interesting that both him and myself were both rather namby-pamby little flowers. I was protected by my mother and my dad was kind but he also loved his alcohol. I don’t know if he was an alcoholic as such but, he did let me try Brandy for the first time and warned me that as it goes down your throat, it burns and it certainly did burn, my delicate little throat. dad even taught me, (a blind person) about how to drive and I learned about putting my hands on the steering wheel, at the 10 and two positions. Although, I thought it was nine and three. My mother was protective of her little snowflake and thus, I never really had a chance to venture out on my own and was afraid of walking the streets, until I was in my 20s. so, anyway… I digress.
Of course, all 5 surviving menbers of the troop are going strong and in their 70s. Since Eric guest starred, will others do so in the future? It would be interesting if John Cleese guest starred as a character similar to Basil Fawlty from his sit com Fawlty Towers. My Dad actually was a fan and I came across it by accident back in 1992. I don’t remember all the details but I found a pack of 2 tapes with 4 episodes on 2 tapes. One had the episodes Basil The Rat and The Builders and the other had the episodes Communication Problems and The Hotel Inspectors.
Can you imagine Homer getting into an argument with a character voiced by John Cleese? Better yet, Mr. Burns getting into one. He would probably be either shaken or even more determined then ever to feed his greed after being yelled and screamed at. As for the other Python members, I’m sure they would love to be on The Simpsons, like Eric Idle has been and would probably do it in a second if asked. At least, I hope so. Although, with Terry Jones and his diagnosis of aphasia that might be a problem for him, unless he has one Brief line to learn and speak, obviously with some degree of difficulty.
Also, don’t forget that Eric Idle was actually a Simpson, before The Simpsons came along, 7 years later. Wait! What? Yes, it’s true and for proof check out the album Monthy Python’s Contractual Obligation and the sketch String, where a promoter played by John Cleese, talks with a man (played by Idle) who is trying to cell 300000 miles of string, which is in 3 inch lengths.
Something else I had recently thought about was the tune at the end of the episode Homer At The Bat, which sounds similar in style to Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life. It’s in the same key and at a similar tempo but is however, very different in musical structure. It’s something I had been going over in my head, ever since I had the episode in my iTunes collection.
Well, that’s about it for this weeks Post. In the mean time, I recommend checking out my other blog, which has older posts relating to The Simpsons, along with a lot more interesting stuff about my favourite bands and other things. http://blindgordieblog.wordpress.com
Also, check out Chris Ladesma’s blog. He is the Music Editor for The Simpsons and has been since day 1.
http://simpsonsmusic500.wordpress.com/author/simpsonsmusic500/
Also, check out Yeardley Smith’s blog at http://gobbingoff.tumblr.com
Don’t forget about Marchez Vous, which is her women’s shoe designer company, which she started earlier in the decade. You can check out their website at
Additionally, for more news on The Simpsons, you can go to http://news.simpsonswiki.com/
You can also comment here or you can email me at blindgordie@gmail.com and I will reply as soon as I can to all messages I receive. If you follow me on Twitter or are my friend on Facebook you can comment directly to me that way too.
You can follow Simpsons Executive Producer Al Jean on Twitter and his Twitter handle is @AlJean.
He has ran the show since Season 13 and has ran it during Seasons 3 and 4.
Anyway, I’ll talk to you again next Sunday.
Simpsons on Sundays 